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Two of the UK’s leading education specialists are joining forces to ensure young people across the country receive the very highest standard of Student Governance training available. Unloc are working together with the highly respected Further Education specialists Rockborn in order to roll out an in-depth programme of events, training and bootcamps for the UK’s Student Governors.
The recently developed Student Governor Changemaker Programme takes young Governors on a personal development changemaker journey. Not talking at them, lobbying them with historical practice or overwhelming them with knowledge, but working with them at ground level upwards, supporting student governors on their next steps, whilst empowering them to be the best they can be in their roles using tangible training and skills – empowering them both as governors and future leaders.
Award winning organisation Unloc have long championed, supported and invested in Student Governors across the FE sector, most notably through their dedicated training and support programmes, student voice workshops, and in-depth governance training for young people. Their mission to create, empower and grow young changemakers has seen them go from strength to strength over the past few years, building a strong reputation for excellence in the education sector, and launching their own Unloc Changemaker Alliance bringing leading businesses together to create opportunities and level the playing field for young people.
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Rockborn boast an impressive track record of success as management and governance consultants in the Further Education sector, long supporting Further Education boards through governance reviews, training, consultancy and project managing mergers in the sector. Rockborn are sector experts with directors and associates having held positions as College Principals, Chief Executives, HR Directors, Marketing Consultants, organisational change leaders, and governance professionals. Their strong belief in the transformational power of Further Education aligns perfectly with Unloc’s mission to empower young people and the next generation, with both organisations understanding the responsibility that goes with such a goal.
Both organisations are experts at cultivating exceptional learning environments, working with staff, boards and young leaders to develop rich and vibrant educational spaces that allow young people to flourish. This partnership initiative builds upon Unloc’s experience with governance training, then elevates and expands it to new heights that allows for a multi-regional offer, reaching more students around the country than ever before.
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The programme will provide the most comprehensive and expansive personal development programme possible, giving college students in a governance position access to dynamic opportunities which include Changemaker Summits run in different locations across the country, building the tangible key skills required to have impact and drive change in their college.
Student Governors will also have access to a series of 3 online digital masterclasses focused on developing students’ wider skill-sets as student leaders and changemakers. Each session will last 90 minutes with a guest speaker and accompanying workshop topics, including Finding Your Leadership Style, Communication, Motivation and Influencing Others and Running Effective Campaigns.
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Delegates will also be invited to The Student Governor Destinations Conference, a one-day event in London held towards the end of the academic year. They’ll explore ‘what next?’ in their Changemaker journey, whether that’s taking their learnings into a second term, or utilising all they’ve learnt as a Student Governor post-College.
They’ll also hear from ex-Student Governors turned changemakers at a national and global level; exploring how to maximise their impact in the next phase of their lives, an ongoing changemaker journey.
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Unloc’s Co-Founder and Chief Executive Hayden Taylor said:
“We simply couldn’t ask for a better partner than Rockborn for our Student Governor Changemaker Programme. Rockborn, as an organisation, has such a strong commitment to creating the highest level of outcomes for young people, and a deep understanding of the education space that we work within.”
“The events being held throughout the year will provide young Student Governors with a wealth of high quality training that sets them on their first steps into leadership, and empowers them with the skills and knowledge they need to impact positive change. Working with Rockborn we’re able to deliver such a high standard of support to these young changemakers in the making, we’re so excited to roll these events out and see them in action.”
Rockborn’s Company Director Peter Ryder said:
“We are really pleased to have created this partnership with Unloc. We share a deep commitment to FE, to the importance of Governance, the Student Voice and the development of young people. We have always seen our role as supporting FE and this is an opportunity to reinforce and develop that commitment. We are excited about the opportunities ahead.”
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For more information about the Unloc Student Governor Changemaker Programmes click here!
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For more information on Unloc’s school and college programmes click here.
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For more information about Rockborn and their services click here.
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Our new series ‘Courses Up Close’ looks more in-depth at some of the wide variety of programmes, courses and bootcamps that we offer at Unloc. One of our favourite courses to deliver is our Unloc Leadership Academy. Available to Secondary Schools and Further Education, the Unloc Leadership Academy is a fun and dynamic initiative to incubate passionate young leaders, support their personal development, and channel their energy into tackling the kinds of social issues faced by young people in their school, college or community.
Young people participating will take part in a core leadership and social action training programme at the beginning of their time at the Academy before specialising in a social issue they would like to address. This could be from a wide range of topics which impact their everyday lives such as Climate Change, Equal Rights, Politics, Homelessness or Food Poverty (for example).
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It’s a brilliant opportunity to get young changemakers thinking critically about the world around them, the issues which impact them and their communities, and to challenge them to consider how they can pro-actively do something to help or improve that problem.
Typically this leads to some fantastic and engaging discussions, peer on peer debates and challenging each other’s views and perceptions – which really grow young people’s confidence and encourages them to speak their truth and feel empowered to do something on a topic they feel strongly about.
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During the course students will learn a wide range of skills including:
Academy participants will then deliver social action projects (usually peer-led presentations) of their own design, focusing on one the priorities they’ve chosen. Often this can include multi-media approaches such as film and video, photography, designing a campaign, slideshow, poster or fundraising.
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Our Co-Founder and Chief Executive Hayden Taylor said:
“Working with young people every day, we know better than many just how engaged and passionate this generation is about social issues, and the problems that many in society face. I don’t think we’ve ever seen that before – young people so engaged with politics and social issues, but if they’ve never had the opportunity to tackle those topics, to learn how to be a leader, or be confident in their own decisons – many don’t understand what they can do personally do to make a tangible difference.”
“Our Leadership Academy is just that opportunity, allowing young people to feel comfortable, confident and empowered to talk about the things that matter the most to them, then working together, utilising the decision making, speaking and communicating skills, and using their new leadership abilities to create something which demonstrate their planning, communicating and creativity to tackle their chosen problem.
“The reaction we get from young people during the academy is always so fantastic to experience, you can see them come alive with ideas and strategies, their minds ticking over in the moment, and the excitement bursting out of them – it’s such a dynamic introduction to Leadership and benefits them enormously in their future.”
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By the end of our Leadership Academy participants will have:
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By the end of the programme, participants will have constructed…
Whether your students have leadership experience already, or are completely new to the concept of leadership, our Leadership Academy will provide an empowering experience for all.
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“We were looking for a dynamic and contemporary leadership programme for our Year 13 Prefects and Unloc more than delivered. They were an absolute pleasure to work with. Their excellent organisation, strong communication and willingness to adapt the course to the needs of our pupils was very impressive indeed. We will certainly be working with Unloc again.”
Luke Rees, Deputy Head, Portsmouth Grammar School
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Interested in a Leadership Academy for your students or young people?
Get in touch for more information and a no obligation chat on how we can help.
Giveus a call us on: 02394 008 180
Or email us at [email protected]
Or click here to fill out our easy to use contact form!
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Unloc has been championing Student Voice since our very first Student Forum back in 2012. Our forums act to help young people across a particular area identify and create action plans, encourage them to network and collaborate together to facilitate and generate more positive changes to their schools, colleges and institutions, and drive improvements in their communities, cities and counties.
Now in 2023, we’ve kickstarted three of our Student Forums: the Cambridgeshire Student Forum (CSF), the Council of Portsmouth Students (CoPS), and the Primary Council of Portsmouth Students (PCoPS). Each forum is bespoke to the area it takes place in, the institutions involved, and the student representatives from those institutions who wholly shape their Forum for the entire year of involvement.
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Up in Cambridgeshire, our Summit was hosted by Long Road Sixth Form College (Cambridge), and attended by students from Long Road as well as Abbey College (Cambridge), Cambridge Academy for Science and Technology, Comberton Village College (Comberton), Hills Road Sixth Form College , St Andrew’s College, and Thomas Clarkson Academy (Wisbech), equating to 40 participants from the 7 institutions.
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Down in Portsmouth, CoPS took place at Trafalgar School in Hilsea, and was attended by students from Trafalgar as well as Admiral Lord Nelson School (Copnor), Ark Charter Academy (Portsmouth), Mayfield School (North End), Mayville High School (Southsea), Miltoncross Academy (Milton), Park Community School (Havant), Portsmouth Grammar School, Priory School (Fratton), Springfield School (Drayton), and The Portsmouth Academy (Fratton), bringing 53 participants from the 11 institutions.
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It’s sister forum, PCoPS also met for the first time, with their Summit taking place within the University of Portsmouth’s Students Union, welcoming students from Cottage Grove Primary School (Southsea), Highbury Primary School (Cosham), King’s Academy College Park (Copnor), Mayville High School (Southsea), Medina Primary School (Cosham), Portsmouth Grammar School, The Flying Bull Academy (Buckland), and Wimborne Primary School (Southsea), with 58 participants from these 8 institutions.
Beacon View Primary Academy (Paulsgrove), Corpus Christi Catholic Primary School (North End), and Court Lane Junior Academy (Cosham) are also involved in PCoPS this year but were unable to attend the Summit and have had/will be having Summit Alternative sessions within their own schools.
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All of the forums were formally introduced to Student Voice, including the UN’s Conventions on the Rights of the Child and our focus on Article 12, ‘Respect for the Views of the Child’:
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“Every child has the right to express their views, feelings and wishes in all matters affecting them, and to have their views considered and taken seriously. This right applies at all times, for example during immigration proceedings, housing decisions or the child’s day-to-day home life” (Source: UNCRC Summary)
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There was dedicated time within all three Summits for the participants to share their thoughts and ideas on Student Voice, including each Institution Group at CSF and CoPS being invited to present to the rest of the group all things Student Voice at their institution, including examples of Student Voice where things had changed or altered in previous years, talking to their School Council, Link Teacher(s) and even their Head Teacher, as well as the consideration of change: what they wanted to change in their institution, community, city or county, and how to go about actioning it.
For PCoPS, in their Institution Groups, they began to formulate plans to bring about their change(s), using posters, flyers and letters to spread the message.
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In CSF and CoPS, the whole group split into Action Groups, a focus to guide them through the rest of their time in the Student Forum, divided by topics, including Business, Careers, Climate Change, Diversity, Eco-Friendly, Inclusion, Life Skills, Mental Health, Technology and Wellbeing. These groups will meet in 2024 to continue to plan their actions to bring about positive change!
To finish the year, each area will have a Student Voice Celebration (SVC) Day in 2024 to share and celebrate all of the (no doubt) amazing work everyone will have done over the course of the year; Cambridgeshire’s SVC Day will take place on Friday 24th May, kindly hosted by Abbey College in Cambridge, and Portsmouth’s SVC Day will be held on Thursday 13th June, bringing together both CoPS and PCoPS!
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For a taste of Student Voice Celebration Day 2023 – Portsmouth Edition click here!
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Interested in further updates?
Contact Jessi Wilson, Programme Facilitator for Leadership Skills and Student Voice at: [email protected]
If you’re aged between 11 to 25 years old then there are two exciting new initiatives you can get involved with which will help us as an organisation to develop and grow. You’ll get to meet new people, make new friends, share your opinions on a whole host of topics – and best of all you’ll have tons of fun doing it!
For over 10 Years at Unloc we’ve facilitated a wide variety of dynamic and engaging programmes to enhance student voice across the many institutions and organisations we work with across the UK. As we continue to grow and expand our reach, young people more than ever need to be at the centre of those decisions.
We consider ourselves incredibly lucky that we get to work with over 15,000 young people every single year, we’re constantly surprised, impressed and amazed by the inspirational young changemakers we meet, so the question was posed ‘Why do we have to stop there?’
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From this, our Community Engagement & Development Strategy was created, in partnership itself with young people, which focuses on expanding our community outreach and by truly investing in them and their changemaker journey after engaging in one of our programmes.
This year we are delighted to be launching two exciting new programmes that will help shape and direct our direction as an organisation – our Youth Board & Unloc Ambassador programmes.
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The Unloc Youth Board
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Our Youth Board will be put at the organisation’s centre to consult and guide the Unloc team to focus on what matters to young people within our work. As youth board members, young people will make significant contributions to the organisation, co-produce our session content with our facilitators and have the opportunity to meet other young people with a heart and passion for developing and empowering young people as changemakers.
Our board will also be instrumental in supporting us with making our programmes more innovative and ensuring they are truly supporting the needs of young people.
Hayden Taylor, Unloc’s Managing Director, said:
“It’s essential that we put young people at the heart of what we do at Unloc. As we grow our reach to work with thousands more young people every year, our Youth Board will be able to properly steer the direction we follow and the decisions we make. I’m so excited to see what this group of amazing young people mean for our future as an organisation.”
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Unloc Ambassadors
We are also establishing our Unloc Ambassadors Programme. Our new young Ambassadors will get the chance to attend our programmes and sessions to help inspire other young people and share their experiences, plus attend exclusive events with our partners to showcase the impact they have made through their changemaker journey.
Both our Youth Board and Ambassadors will receive training and support throughout to develop their public speaking, communication, networking skills and more.
The 2 programmes will work in harmony by meeting for a joint development day in early 2024, and then meeting with the rest of the Unloc Community (any Young Person who has completed a programme with us before) in August for our first-ever Unloc Changemaker Conference.
Ben Dowling, Co-Founder of Unloc & Director of People & Resources said:
“As we grow the work we do, it’s only natural that the young people who engage in Unloc programmes should become advocates for the programmes that are empowering and engaging them in what matters most to them. Through our Ambassadors programme, we can make sure that genuine role modelling of young changemakers can be built into all the work we do, whilst also providing yet another leadership opportunity for young people across the Unloc Community.”
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Emiley Hinton, Unloc’s Community & Alumni Engagement Officer said:
“The community strategy is an amazing chance to grow the amount of young people who will get the chance to access experiences to grow their confidence through a variety of opportunities. This is such an exciting strategy and it’s only the beginning, can’t wait to see the impact this strategy and both programmes will have on the young people and Unloc itself!”
These opportunties not only help Unloc as an organisation continue to grow and best meet the needs of young people, they also provide unique opportunities for young people to develop themselves, network and meet like minded other people, and to grow their skills and empowerment to voice their opinions and take action on issues which are important to them. Don’t just take our word for it though, take it from someone who knows!
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Katie Reid
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Katie Reid took part in the Inspiring Change programme last year, and her group ‘See the difference’ created an awareness campaign about bullying and how to get help and support. This was inspired by their own personal experiences, and was a topic that they cared deeply about and wanted to take action on. Through the programme Katie and her team mate Sasha were invited to the House of Commons to speak about their impressive project at the PAC Parliamentary Event, Katie’s said:
“When I look back at who I was just over a year ago I can’t believe i’m the same person. I first got involved with Unloc through the Inspiring Change project in Summer 2022. The Unloc programme absolutely changed my life, it opened so many doors for me inside my own head, showing me that I have a voice, what I can be capable of, that I can speak up, I can speak passionately, I can come up with ideas of my own and actually create change around me in the world.“
“I feel a lot more confident in my future since completing the programme, and I think I’m more likely to be successful now too because I actually know what I am capable of. I’m not just abandoned by Unloc, I keep getting to do more and more with my future!“
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Click here to find out more about our Unloc Ambassadors programme
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Click here to find out more about the Unloc Youth Board!
Unloc has been championing Student Voice since our first Student Forum back in 2012. Our forums are for young people across an area to collaboratively work together to drive school improvement in their community.
The forums celebrate and share good examples of where students can facilitate a positive change to their educational environment. They also act to help young people identify and create an action plan to generate more positive changes in their school, college or institution.
Unloc’s very own Jessi Wilson, Programme Facilitator for Leadership Skills & Student Voice wanted to share her experience at the two recent summits which welcomes young people from across the area:
“The Council of Portsmouth Students (CoPS) and its’ sister forum the Primary Council of Portsmouth Students (PCoPS) are just two of the Student Forums Unloc facilitates in Portsmouth. Each forum is bespoke to the area, the institutions involved, and the student representatives who wholly shape their Forum for the entire year.
This term, both forums have had their first Summit, with all the student participants coming together in person!
The Council of Portsmouth Students Summit
The CoPS Summit took place on Thursday 10th November, kindly hosted by Portsmouth Grammar School at their Playing Fields in Hilsea.
CoPS is proud to have 57 participants from 10 institutions involved in this academic year:
The Primary Council of Portsmouth Students Summit
The PCoPS Summit took place on Thursday 24th November, and was hosted at our Changemaker Studios: Portsmouth space within the Portsmouth Guildhall.
PCoPS is proud to have over 100 participants from 14 institutions involved in this academic year:
Both forums were formally introduced to Student Voice, including the UN’s Conventions on the Rights of the Child and our focus on Article 12: “Respect for the Views of the Child”.
We observed how CoPS and PCoPS has evolved over the years and discussed what to expect from this year ahead and the responsibilities of all of the forum members in their involvement in their respective groups.
There was dedicated time at both Summits for the participants to consider change – what they wanted to change in their institution, community or city, and how to go about actioning that: for CoPS, they formed into five Action Groups:
For PCoPS, they began formulate plans to bring about their change(s), using posters, flyers and letters to spread the message.
For CoPS, the Action Groups will meet up several times over the coming year to work together to bring about their desired changes and improve the city for themselves and other young people. There will also be two more Summits for everyone to come together.
Both CoPS and PCoPS will come together at the end of the academic year for Student Voice Celebration (SVC) day 2023 – a city-wide celebratory event in June to share and celebrate all of the (no doubt) amazing work everyone had done over the course of the year!
Each institution group involved in CoPS/PCoPS for 2022/2023 has been presented a framed certificate to show they are a proud participant and to display this within their institution.
Thank you to everyone who attended these days and made our Summits such a success! I thoroughly enjoyed meeting everyone and am looking forward to working together over the next academic year and making real changes in our institutions, communities and the city of Portsmouth!”
Jessi Wilson, Programme Facilitator – Leadership Skills & Student Voice
As you know we recently held our annual Festival of Student Governance event in partnership with the Association of Colleges, and supported by the Blagrave Trust. Each year we welcome young people from colleges across the country to our bespoke training event as part of the country’s largest further education event.
We spoke with some of the delegates to get their impressions of the event and will be releasing some feature articles in the coming days to share their insight.
Today we hear all about James Tinson’s experience
My name is James Tinson and i’m the Student Union President and a Student Governor for Derby College. Recently I attended the Festival of Student Governance as a delegate. I was expecting a somewhat familiar Workshop and informative event, so it definitely was different, and in a good, as well as exhilarating way.
I actually felt engaged and involved, listened to, regularly spoken with and acknowledged, which I can say from other events in the past; is not always something you’d see, so it really was brilliant for me.
I found the networking dinner and guest speakers incredibly electrifying. I regret not having gotten fully stuck in, but nonetheless, I met a lot of amazing individuals and discovered so much more about the other student governors out there, and discovering what they were all doing in their own colleges.
The guest speakers specifically were incredibly awe-inspiring, all proving and providing solid proof that anything we ourselves set out to achieve can, and will, inevitably be within our reach, so long as we all keep trying our best and constantly aware of the opportunities that present themselves.
The facilitators and Unloc staff were very kind and informative, extremely understanding as well as forthcoming, it was also very well balanced with guidelines as well. We were informed immediately of things to consider and remember, so it wasn’t difficult knowing what was expected of us in the realms of behaviour.
The experience of the Association of Colleges Annual Conference was that it even managed to surpass all I’d experienced and witnessed the first day. It broadened my awareness even more so, around what can and should be when we have the abilities that we so luckily have been provided by our peers; that there are truly many, many individuals out there who wholeheartedly wish and aspire to provide us all with fairer opportunities to succeed.
I also found the exercises and workshops on Day 2 extremely eye opening, in the same sense that guest speakers provided further strong inspiration to myself and I’m sure many others present.
The exercises, provided me with a better sense of understanding and newly found confidence of the ways I can perform the duties expected of me, not only how to do those duties, but to also ensure we are heard and listened to.
I took a lot away from the event, be it ways I could be engaging the day to day of my role or how to be successful in more mature environments like board meetings.
The event also provided me with the final piece of confidence that I’d found myself lacking as of late in my role, allowing me the motive and extra assurance of how I can make full use of the platform provided to me, as well as the bridge to creating an even more supportive and engaging environment for Students.
Last week was our annual Festival of Student Governance event in partnership with the Association of Colleges, and supported by the Blagrave Trust. Each year we welcome young people from colleges across the country to our bespoke training event as part of the country’s largest further education event.
We spoke with some of the delegates to get their impressions of the event and will be releasing some feature articles in the coming days to share their insight.
Today we hear all about Harrison Ricketts experience
“When the Heart of Worcestershire College offered to send me on a 2-day residential trip to Birmingham for the Festival of Student Governance, my honest first thought was relief it was only going to be under an hour train journey; compared to other student governors, who would travel 5 hours and more to go!
I was so excited to attend and meet so many like-minded people across the country in similar roles to myself. I felt that this would give me the perfect opportunity to gain experience in how governance works in other colleges, as well as learning how I might be able to support my own passion projects.
The Festival of Student Governance provided exactly that, a platform for student governors to learn and interact with one another.
Once I had arrived at the hotel that was fully booked by Unloc, I was greeted by a friendly team of Unloc staff. They were extremely helpful, and they made it an exceptionally smooth experience of registering and finding my hotel room.
During the training, the Unloc staff were really engaged with the activities that we were all doing, ensuring that everyone was taking part, learning, and having fun. I felt that the Unloc staff did an amazing job keeping us all safe, whilst also being able to attend the Association of Colleges Annual Conference and exhibition!
Obviously, networking was a major part of this experience. We were given time to just chat with everyone and learn where we came from, and what we have experienced as student governors.
There were, as you might expect, a lot of LinkedIn connections popping up! Throughout the 2 days, we got to see several guest speakers, where they spoke about their area of expertise and spread advice for the new, and more experienced student governors.
We got to see faces such as the founder and Managing Director of Unloc, Hayden Taylor, the Senior Policy Manager at AoC, Eddie Playfair; the CEO of the AoC, David Hughes CBE; and so many more!
Being able to be present at the AoC’s annual conference was a massive privilege and honour! I was able to absorb so much knowledge surrounding education and governance, whilst meeting so many interesting people from a multitude of backgrounds.
Being at this conference made me feel as if I was able to have a profound influence as a student and representative. It gave me the opportunity to share my beliefs and thoughts on current issues within education such as environmental impact, student voice, and enrichment activities.
On the second day of our training, when we were in the AoC’s annual conference, the student governor training was given their own room where we took part in exercises like holding mock governor meetings and playing the roles and responsibilities of different governors.
All the student governors also got to attend one of the conference’s breakout sessions, where we could learn about specific areas within governance and education.
I took part in “A Strategic Approach to Enrichment in Colleges” delivered by AoC Sport, the Chichester College Group, the Northern Council for Further Education (NCFE), and the University of Derby. Other sessions discussed areas such as Higher Technical Qualifications, Inclusive Curriculums, College’s Green Skills, Youth Social Action, and the Curriculum of the Future!
After attending the Festival of Student Governance and the AoC’s Annual Conference & Exhibition, I feel more confident in my role as a student governor and re-energised to put all my efforts into improving my college.
Furthermore, this experience has left me with knowledge I may never have received, as well as long-lasting connections with student governors and education leaders across the country.
Thank you to Unloc and all the partner’s that made this experience possible, I would fully recommend this to all student governors everywhere – especially future student governors of Heart of Worcestershire College!“
Portsmouth: A Young Changemakers City is Unloc’s exciting new project funded by the Ellis Campbell Foundation. This innovative new programme seeks to better embed democracy and democratic practices within schools, and inspire and empower young people to become changemakers in their own right.
The plan is to develop the project further and roll out the Young Changemaker Cities project to schools across the country in the future. As the city where it all started for Unloc, Portsmouth is the location for our launch of the project, and provides an exciting new innovation for Portsmouth schools and the young people that attend them.
The Project
The Young Changemaker Cities project has 4 key strands to it.
Firstly, we create a localised toolkit of resources which schools can use across tutorials and the curriculum. This bespoke toolkit is specifically designed for purpose, and has been co-produced with teachers and young people themselves.
Secondly, we host in-school Democracy Days – which allows our Unloc Facilitators to bring democracy to life with young people in an interactive, high-energised delivery style that’s both fun and rewarding. It takes the topic of democracy and makes it engaging and interesting in a way that appeals more to young minds.
Thirdly, we are delivering an incubation programme which is open access for young people who show a deeper interest in democracy. This engagement opens up channels of thought that they may not have accessed before, and allows us to empower them to become changemakers themselves.
Young people will get the chance to experience 4 weekend-long experiences which provides them with the chance to boost their democracy and leadership skills.
Finally, we provide ongoing support to schools to help better imbed democracy into the culture of the school.
This is an extremely exciting project that allows schools to really connect with their students around democracy and work together to ensure best practice is followed in the school.
Portsmouth: A Young Changemakers City launches
Recently, we delivered our first Changemaker Democracy Day at Admiral Lord Nelson School in Portsmouth. As part of the day, we had fifty enthusiastic students from all year groups who are keen to ensure democracy is a common theme within their school life.
They had the chance to explore what makes a ‘changemaker’ and what they would do to make a difference both in their local community and beyond.
Each student got the chance to pitch to their peers about what they would do ‘If they were prime minister for the day’, and how they would rally support for their manifesto with a democratic fashion.
The students were also lucky enough to hear inspiring talks from Destiny Kennedy, the Member of Youth Parliament in Portsmouth, and Cllr Suzy Horton, Deputy Leader for Portsmouth City Council, and Cabinet Member for Children, Families and Education.
Finally, the students were also given a safe space to actively discuss democracy in their school, their experience of it and what they would like to see improved in their learning environment.
The day was a huge success and we heard some really inspiring ideas from young people about how they would like to make positive differences in their local communities.
Admiral Lord Nelson School students commented:
’I have gained the knowledge of how I can make change today ‘
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‘We have gained the knowledge to be motivational and self-confident’
Unloc Facilitator Steve Baker commented:
“The Portsmouth: A Young Changemaker Cities project is important to enhance the pupil voice across the area. Giving young people the practical skills and knowledge they need to make the change they wish to see in their schools, as well as in the wider communities in which they live”
Fellow Unloc Facilitator Clair Martin added:
“The Young Changemakers Cities project is an essential tool to spark creative thinking and doing to help bring about social change. The project gives young people the confidence to ask for change and to feel confident change will happen.”
The initial launch of the Young Changemaker Cities project in Portsmouth will allow our team to develop the programme even further, refining and developing it with young people themselves so that it benefits young people across the UK in the future.
To find out more about the Ellis Campbell Foundation and the fantastic work they do simply click here.
Unloc are working together with the highly respected Further Education specialists Rockborn in order to roll out an in-depth programme of events, training and bootcamps for the UK’s Student Governors.
Maheep Kaur, Portsmouth’s elected Member of UK Youth Parliament, recently met with 2 local Members of Parliament to discuss the issues impacting young people.
14 – 25? Have a passion to tackle social issues or a business concept that needs funding? Now’s your chance to make a real difference!
We work with many organisations to provide the many experiences, courses & opportunities we offer. This year we wanted to take some time to recognise one of these important organisations, The Marketors’.
Unloc are working together with the highly respected Further Education specialists Rockborn in order to roll out an in-depth programme of events, training and bootcamps for the UK’s Student Governors.
Maheep Kaur, Portsmouth’s elected Member of UK Youth Parliament, recently met with 2 local Members of Parliament to discuss the issues impacting young people.
14 – 25? Have a passion to tackle social issues or a business concept that needs funding? Now’s your chance to make a real difference!
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